How to Draw the Superman Logo

Draw a straight, 6.5-inch line across the shirt or piece of paper you're working on. This crossbar will be the top of your Superman logo. Use the pencil at first, sketching lightly, so you can make any necessary corrections.

Draw one 2.5-inch line at each end of the crossbar you just drew; the shorter lines should each angle downward at a 134-degree angle to the top crossbar.

Draw two 7.75-inch lines that start at the bottom end of the short lines you just drew, then meet in a single point at the bottom. The longer lines should be set at 93-degree angles to the short lines and the angle where the long lines meet, forming the bottom point of the Superman diamond, should measure about 82 degrees.

Ink in the diamond outline with your marker. Then use the pencil to lightly sketch a second diamond, with every line and angle .5-inch inside the original diamond. Do not ink in the smaller diamond yet.

Pencil in a light guideline, straight across between the two outside points of the diamond, then two more horizontal lines below it to divide the remaining space before the point into thirds. Add two vertical guidelines dropping down from the top angles of the diamond, then three more vertical lines evenly spaced between them. The middlemost vertical line should run straight from the top crossbar down to the point of the diamond.

Ink in the rightmost vertical guideline, from the crossbar down to the first horizontal guideline. Then ink in 1.75 inches of that first horizontal guideline, working to the left of the other line you just inked. This marks the end of the upper right "arm" of the S.

Draw a swooping arc from the left end of the horizontal line you just draw, up and left just below the line of the sketched-in inner diamond, then swooping back down to blend into the second vertical guideline from the left, just where it meets the uppermost horizontal guide.

Continue the "swoop" back to the right just below the uppermost horizontal guide and then gradually down, making a sharper downward turn to hit the intersection where the second horizontal guide from the top meets the inner right edge of the diamond.

Draw a very small equilateral triangle, with the top edge parallel to the inside top of the diamond and the leftmost point even with the second vertical guideline from the right. This is the "notch" where the upper arm of the "S" meets the diamond.

Draw a gentle arc left and down from where the second vertical guide from the left meets the inside top of the diamond. The arc should end just where the leftmost vertical guide hits the inner edge of the diamond. This shapes the upper-left part of the "S."

Sketch a line roughly parallel to the second horizontal guide down from the top; it should bend ever so slightly down to the right, ending in a down-and-left U-turn that just brushes against the inside edge of the diamond. Continue that U-turn back to the left until you hit the middle vertical guide. Draw a small bump just to the left of this, bringing the line back to the inner edge of the diamond. This defines the top edge of the S-shape's bottom leg.

Sketch in an arc that parallels the bottommost horizontal guide, sagging ever so slightly in the middle. This delineates the bottom edge of the "S."

Ink in the "S" shape you just drew, plus the inside edges of the diamond. The only edges you shouldn't ink in are those where the "S" meets the diamond; it should look like the diamond and the "S" bleed into each other with no defined border.

Color the "S" and the diamond red; the negative space within the diamond -- that is, anything not included inside the "S" borders -- should be yellow.